North American Sport Horse Breeder

This new reference work, directed to the breeder of sport horses, specifically those in North America, presents the breeder with a fresh way to evaluate equine genetics through the pedigree, a method to identify key individuals in the ancestry that can be dominance building candidates, and with instruction on how to use this information to construct the most advantageous mating. The application of these breeding principles is focused on the Olympic-style sport horse but is just as applicable to all other equine breeding endeavors.

About Kathleen H. Kirsan

You may say I am the least likely person to have written a book about sport horse breeding. I was not part of the horse culture in my younger years, and I did not even own a horse until I was 39. I was born in Boston and raised in its suburbs; I spent most of my adult life working in the construction industry.

My entry into breeding began with a Thoroughbred mare that was a cull from the racetrack. I became intrigued with the names in her pedigree, and this then began my study of bloodlines and heredity. My passion coincided with the appearance of great works in the Thoroughbred industry that evaluated which pedigree patterns were producing winners. Because I understood genetics work the same in every equine, I applied the Thoroughbred industry’s findings to my own program, which resulted in immediate improvements in my foals.

Excerpt

The concept of international equestrian competition did not become a reality in the modern equine sport world until the turn of the last century, the 1900s. Most countries were breeding cavalry, coach, and sporting stock before this, but the international sport pursuits, those fashioned after hunter traditions, and the cavalry training for horse and rider became sport only at that time. Horses bred to compete in the new sport form were designed only then; for the countries wanting to participate in these sports and win, they needed to use their existing horse breeds and adjust their talents with selective breeding programs to meet the new sport demands.